A former goalkeeping coach who scouted Ivor Pandur admits he was surprised to hear Hull City were prepared to allow the Croatian to join Rangers.
Pandur has joined the Ibrox club for £6m with Jack Butland coming to the Premier League newboys in return, and Steve Marsella, who operated as goalkeeping coach in Scotland with Hibernian and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, is a big fan.
The 26-year-old goalkeeper was a key figure last season, as City roared to promotion through the Championship play-offs. In those three games, Pandur kept three clean sheets and became just the fourth goalkeeper in history to achieve that feat.
City have been forced into moving on Pandur and Kyle Joseph to ensure they’re not at risk of a Financial Fair Play breach, and therefore, a potential points deduction.
“Pandur is a good, good goalkeeper. When I heard that Rangers were interested, I wasn’t surprised,” Marsella told the Daily Record. “I was more surprised that Hull City was considering selling, but then I have spoken to a few people. It looks like they have to sell a player or two to stay within the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
“We have seen clubs lose points and be deducted in the past, so Hull City are looking to sell players to balance the books on that front. That has probably opened the door for Rangers to get Pandur.
“They are getting a goalkeeper who is at the World Cup with Croatia, with his best years still ahead of him. If it goes through and Pandur does go to Rangers (it was confirmed late on Tuesday night), then they would be getting a very good goalkeeper.”
Pandur joined City from Fortuna Sittard in January 2024, but his arrival caused some controversy with Liam Rosenior keeping faith with Ryan Allsop. The Tigers missed out on promotion, and Rosenior left. After a battle with Carl Rushworth in the early days of Tim Walter’s reign, Pandur established himself as the club’s number one and played in all but one game in the regular league campaign last term.
He only missed the draw at Oxford United on Good Friday because of his late return from international duty with Croatia, and in the final weeks of the season, he proved his value to City.
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“He didn’t have an outstanding first half of the season at Hull, but in the second half of the season he really kicked in,” Marsella continued.
“Pandur came into his own in the second half of the season. He was a major player in getting Hull into the play-offs and even through them and into the English Premier League. He produced some big moments in the last few months to get Hull where they are just now.
“The games got bigger with every passing week, and Pandur just seemed to get better and better. As I say, the only reason Hull is selling them (Joseph and Pandur) is to balance the books and keep in line with the Financial Fair Play rules.
“I don’t think they would have sold him if they didn’t need to, because Pardur would have been a big player again for them in the Premier League. Pandur is not the biggest, but he will come for the ball. He is not afraid to come off his line. He will attack the ball if it is there to be won. I would say he is brave.
“He is also a good shot-stopper. He is a solid player. So I think he would do well in the Scottish game and also bring more of a calmness when it comes to Europe. He has good experience in Holland and Italy. He has experience in the English Championship, so moving to Scotland and Rangers should be straightforward enough.”
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